BIG PROBLEM Search Defaulting to AI Search Showing Items Not Related- See Screenshots

[jsvintageplace]

When looking up comps, I am getting AI-generated results showing items not related in the slightest bit of what I'm looking for. The items showing look to be cheap Temu or Amazon type of items. I searched "Vintage Uranium Glass Candlesticks" and I'm getting results with cheap notebooks, watches, etc. There is a small link to change back to classic search, when I switch back it gives me the normal results. Most people shopping on eBay may not even see the link. Please see the screenshots. This is horrible. My sales have come to a complete halt this weekend, and this may be the culprit:  

[jsvintageplace]

Here's the same search results when switching to "Classic Search": 

[eburtonlab]

eBay may be testing something with select accounts. If the test results in more sales, the test may be expanded, or eBay may use the test to refine the search in the future.

It is probably too soon to declare the test a complete failure and blame your lowered sales on that, even though your particular search example is obviously not an improvement over the original non-AI search.

I have not seen the AI search results yet myself, so at least some users are still seeing the classic results that you prefer, and your sales should not be affected for any of those users.

Here is what I see when I perform that search:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Vintage+Uranium+Glass+Candlesticks&_sacat=0&_sop=10

[jsvintageplace]

 It doesn't happen every time I use the search, but I've noticed it happening more frequently now. Even if it happens one time to a buyer they may just give up and go look somewhere else and who could blame them? A dysfunctional search will most certainly impact sales when people aren't able to find what they're looking for. Why are they pushing this cheap Temu type of stuff in the searches anyway? It cheapens the platform IMO. If I can't find what I'm looking for neither can other potential buyers. AI isn't what it's cracked up to be. Here is a screenshot of my weekend sales so far: 

[eburtonlab]

If I can't find what I'm looking for neither can other potential buyers.

Just because you search one way does not mean all your buyers do, though.

Even if it happens one time to a buyer they may just give up and go look somewhere else and who could blame them?

eBay is able to collect vast amounts of data about how users are searching, and at what point they are buying, searching again, or giving up. Possibly examining such data has lead eBay to implement this test in the first place.

Perhaps there were users that had trouble finding things under the old non-AI search, and those users were giving up. eBay may be trying to find a way to provide search results that satisfy those users and keep them from giving up.

If a change leads to fewer sales overall, eBay is likely to notice that and undo the change pretty quickly. The problem comes when a change leads to greater sales overall, but fewer sales for particular searches or sellers. Although the AI search results are not providing good results for the search example you have shown, it may be providing better results in other searches and may actually lead to greater sales overall. Or eBay may be expecting that the AI results will improve enough over time that they will lead to greater sales in the future.

eBay conducts a lot of test and collects a lot of data. Not every test is a success, obviously. But such tests are how eBay collects data about how to make improvements.

Most searches have a "Tell us what you think" link at the bottom of the page. There may even be a special form to provide your evaluation of the new AI-driven results -- I have not seen it yet. Use that "Tell us what you think" link to provide feedback to page developers about how the search is working or not working.

[valueaddedresource]

I'm seeing the AI search results in some instances as well and can confirm for the search mentioned above, it's definitely struggling with relevance.

Interestingly, for some searches not only is it using AI to pick the results, but it also appears to be providing AI created conversational query suggestions likely aimed at helping surface items a buyer might be interested in without them having to explicitly search specific keywords.

For example, typing in the word "sneakers" provided the usual list of suggested keywords but then at the bottom had three AI recommendations - "suggest some cool and trendy sneakers for teenage boys", "what are some sneakers suitable for long-distance running?" and "what are some popular and stylish sneakers for this season?"

The results were at least more relevant, though it does still appear to have some trouble finding an answer to the specific question and differentiating between other items that are somewhat related but not actually the item the question was about.

In this case, the question was asking for shoe recommendations but the results also contained many hydration packs that, while possibly also useful for long distance running, don't match the specific intent of looking to buy shoes.

I noticed other searches brought up suggested questions around gifting, likely at least somewhat inspired by Etsy's recent moves with their Gift Mode AI powered recommendations.

For example, a search for "fishing" suggested "find me anniversary gifts for my husband who loves fishing", "help me find anniversary gifts for my husband who loves fishing" and "find me a retirement gift for my uncle who loves fishing."

Those who worry about how bias can easily get baked into AI tools based on training models and prompting may raise an eyebrow at the obvious gender role assumptions being made, especially as this search was done in an incognito browser while not logged in to a specific account, so there should not have been past search or account information for it to draw on to make assumptions or inferences about the user.

I wonder how that fits in with the inclusivity, equity, and fairness principles espoused in eBay's commitment to Responsible AI?

[valueaddedresource]

I just spotted another potentially huge problem with this experimental AI search - it shows troubling results for "toys to help a 3-year-old develop fine motor skills" - clearly ignoring age guidance in item specifics & suggesting items with small parts & magnetic pieces that could be very dangerous for toddlers.

devon@ebay kyle@ebay elizabeth@ebay please pass this on to the appropriate team.

[mish-productions]

Since yesterday I have had the ai search feature default for a few things I have listed. I always search my items out after listing to ensure they show up correctly in the search results and there are no errors. I mostly deal in books, and even when typing the complete titles of a few of the books, when it defaults to the ai results the books don't even show in the results. Not mine or any of the other listings from people selling the same book. When I opt out of it and back to the classic search, they do show up as they should. So, if a potential customer is looking for the specific book I am selling and types in the title completely, it won't show in the defaulted ai results and they now would have to click on the "Return to classic search" button to get the correct results, which as it currently is doesn't really stand out much and could easily be passed over. This almost certainly will hurt sales if typing out the exact title doesn't actually bring up the listings of that exact item, which isn't an issue in classic search mode.

[mish-productions]

Here are a few examples. On the "the jobs to be done playbook" search it even only shows book results, but doesn't actually show the books with the exact title in the results until I return to the classic search mode.